Brief:
T' Space Ark was t' spaceship that took t' lucky few people t' a new world in t' 1951 classic movie When Worlds Collide. This perfect replica kit fits well in t' your collection o' "retro" kits or anti-3FNC kits. This kit flies on G and H motors and comes with a nice nylon (oversized) chute.

Construction:
This kit looks deceptively simple t' build. Well, blow me down! There is one body tube, a nose cone, a tail cone, arrr, a motor mount and some fins. Begad! Blimey! It does come with a nice nylon parachute and even a sample o' their "Bod Wad" ejection wading. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast!

T' fins, me hearties, matey, rudder, and wings are made o' nice aircraft plywood. Ahoy! T' nose cone and tail cone are made from sturdy plastic. Begad! This kit has nice pre-shaped fin pods. Aye aye! Blimey! (All spaceships from t' 50's had t' cheesy fin pods that did absolutely nothing.) Roundin' out t' parts list is a set o' decals and a nice nylon chute.

Read this directions before you start. I know you have heard this before, but this time, me hearties, me hearties, shiver me timbers, do it. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey! This does nay go together like anythin' I have ever built and I almost got caught a couple times. When it says t' put t' motor mount in with t' recovery strap facin' up, ya bilge rat, me hearties, do it. Avast! Aye aye! Blimey! You will be sorry if you don't.

As with all Pemtech kits, t' instructions are written like a great Mel Brooks movie with tons o' tongue in cheek humor. That aside, they are well written and come with several pages o' full color pictures.

OK, I deviated from t' destructions in a few areas. Begad! It's nay that I know better, shiver me timbers, it just that I like t' do things different. Avast! Blimey! Besides; it's me rocket and I can do what ever I want. Arrr! Blimey!

The kit comes with a nifty motor retainer, however, I chose nay t' install it. This made for an easier build and allowed for more motor options.

I also didn't use t' expandin' foam. Ya scallywag! Since t' fins in t' boat tail are epoxied directly t' t' motor mount, shiver me timbers, I figured that t' foam will only add weight. Arrr! Begad! (Besides, I didn't have any.) I used a thick epoxy containin' colloidal silica for this and applied heavy fillets for good measure.

I don't like brass lugs. Blimey! Blimey! This kit comes with a great 1/4" x 3" long brass launch lug. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I didn't use it and went with a cardboard one instead. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey!

I'd say t' most difficult part o' t' build be cuttin' t' slots in the tail cone for t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' HDPE (plastic for you non-chemists out there) is tough t' cut cleanly. Blimey! Begad!

Finishing:
Finishin' was nay too bad. If you have ever done t' heavy plastic nose cones you know what you're in for there. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! T' body tube didn't match too well with the tail cone and nose cone so I had t' use a little filler there. Avast, me proud beauty! I didn't attempt to paint it with t' chrome paint that is seen on their website. Arrr! I just used Rustoleum Metallic Silver for it. It comes with some really groovy decals, matey, but I didn't put them on until after t' first flight.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' first flight was on a G40-7W. I think it was slightly underpowered because it did a corkscrew kind o' thin' on t' way up. Arrr! Aye aye! A G80 would have been more appropriate. Ya scallywag! T' delay was long but nay too bad. Recovery be otherwise perfect. H242T be used for t' second flight. Aye aye! This thin' ripped off the pad with authority. Aye aye!

Recovery:
I didn't think I would ever see it again, but as good rockets sometimes do, me bucko, it drifted back within 500' o' t' pad under a full chute. That was a great flight but I don't think I'll do that again.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I really like this kit. Begad! Like t' 3FNC I have from Pemtech, me bucko, me hearties, it has the retro-classic look t' it and really stands out in me collection. Ahoy! Avast! It's tougher to build than some kits o' its size, but it's well worth it.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5